Motor vehicle drive



April 1940- R. BUCK'ENDALE 2,195,509

MOTOR VEHICLE DRIVE Filed march 29. 19:5 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 I N V E N TOR L. Ray .511 c/renda/e ATTORNEYS April 1940. .L. R. BUCKENDALE 2, 95,509

MOTOR VEHICLE DRIVE Filed March 29,1935 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VE N TOR. L. fra yfiackenaa/e BY Qzmdi wwa ATTORNEYS April 1940- R. BUCKENDALE 2,195,509

MOTOR VEHICLE DRIVE Filed March 29, 1935 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 ATTORNEYS Ill Patented 'Apr- 2, 9

PATENT OFFICE Moronvmncm nnrvn Lawrence Ray signor to The Buc kendale, Detroit, men, as-

Timken-Detroit Axle Company,

Detroit, Mich., a' corporation of Ohio Application March 29, 1935, Serial No. 13,753

"scams. (01.180-54) i I may be used at the power take-oil of'the trans- This invention relates to driving mechanisms.

particularly such as may be used in rear motor mounted vehicles.

In vehicles, such as buses, where maximum useful floor space is the prime consideration, the power plant, or prime mover of the vehicle is placed in the rear .of the rear axle. In order to prevent too great an overhang, such a. prime mover, or engine is placed with its longitudinal axis at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle. Under such conditions the method of arranging the necessary component parts, such as clutch, transmission and propeller shaft, presents a complicated problem. There are two'arrangements which, up to the present time, have had the widest use. In both of these arrangements the longitudinal axis of the transmission coincides with and is an extension of. the'longitudinal axis of the engine and clutch.

In the first of the arrangements, the engine, clutch and transmission are placed in line transversely of the vehicle.- A standard transmission may be used, but a special set of acute angle bevel gears at the power out-put end 'is necessary, asit is evident that the power out-put end oi such an arrangement will be very close to the side wall of the vehicle body. Since the rear axle driving gears must necessarily be placed between the wheels, located at the ends of the axle, the propeller shaft from the. power out-put end of the transmission to the rear axle diflerential carrier must be angularly placed with respect to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle. With such an arrangement the gear set at the power out-put end of the transmission and the rear axle driving gears must be'other than the conventional ninety-degree bevel gearing. It is readily seen then that. with this arrangement the distance from theend oi the motor to the power cut -put end of the tiansmissionis necessarily very great, so that it presents certain restrictions on the width of the vehicle,

The second arrangement above-mentioned, likewise has the engine, clutch and transmission in line transversely of the vehicle, but in this case a special transmission. incorporating a countershaft, permanently geared, parallel 'to, but below the main shaft, is used. The power take-oi! of this transmission is located at the lower portionat the end thereof adjacent In other words, the power of the transmission the clutch housing.

take-off gearing is attached to the counter-shaft and at the end oLthe transmission opposite to the end where such gearing is usually located. With this arrangement, ninety-degree bevel gears second arrangement, however,

.are only two sets -the power take-oil? end of mission and in the rear axle carrier and the overall length from the motor fan to the end of the transmission is not as great as in the first arrangement described. The disadvantage of this is that when the vehicle is in high or direct drive, the drive-must necessarily be through a meshing set-of gears between the main shaft and counter-shaft of the transmission. In the first arrangement described, when the vehicle is, in direct drive, there of gears through which the first, the set of gears in the transmission and second, the set of gears in the rear axle carrier. In the second arrangement there are three sets of gears through which the drive must go; first, the set between the main and counter-shafts of the transmission, second, the set at the power take-off end of the transmission, and third, the set in the rear axle carrier.

While this second arrangement does not present the overall power plant length disadvantage to the same degree-as the first design, it is only shortened by the space taken up by the power take-off gearing. In other words, in order to conserve this overall length, the user of this sec.- ond arrangement penalizes himself in the amount of a special transmission and an extra set of gears.

My invention contemplates the ,elimination of the above-noted disadvantages. and has as aprimary' object to provide a novel power plant arrangement embodying a tansmission whose longitudinal axis is other than parallel toor coincident with the-longitudinal axis of the driving motor.

A iurther'object of this invention is to provide in a rear motor mounted vehicle a novel arrangement of motor, clutch and transmission such that standard rear axle gearing may be utilized.

Another object is to provide anexceedingly compact arrangement of motor, clutch and trans-' mission in a motor vehicle whereby no penalties drive ,is transmitted;

' in body width or design are encountered.

of my invention is to pro- Still another object v vide a novel unitary power plant arrangement in which the vehicle-driving engine and the change speed transmission are connected together as a unit with the transmission mechanism disposed at one end of the engine in such a manner that the width of the entire unit is but slightly greater than the width of the engine.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a novel driving connection between a change speed transmission mechanism and internal combustion engine whereby the engine and transmission mechanism can be associated together in a novel manner as a unit. A further and related object is to provide for connection of the transmission housing in a novel manner to the housing for the clutch in a unitary power plant arrangementso that the transmission housuse of a comparatively small size bevel gear set which is conducive to greater compactness and an increased safetyfactor.

A still further object of my invention is to provide a novel change speed transmission having a power in-put shaft angularly disposed with respect to the transmission main shaft and counter-shaft.

Still another object of my invention is to provide in a change speed transmission, a novel bevel gear drive and means to adjust the meshing engagement of the drive, i

A still further object of my invention is to provide in a change speed transmission, a novel counter-shaft .and counter-shaft bearing support.

The above and further objects will appear from astudy of the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings wherei'n Figure 1 is a diagrammatic view in side e1e-' of a driving mechanism incorporating my invention;

Figure 2 is an enlarged plan view of the driv- 'ing mechanism of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is an enlarged elevational view of a modification of the driving mechanisms of Figures 1 and 2;

Figure 4 is a plan view similar to Figure 2 illustrating a modification;

Figure 5. is a side elevational view of the modification illustrated in Figure 4; I

Figure 6 is ahorizontal sectional view'of the transmission of Figures 1, 2 and 3; and

Figure 7 is -a sectional view taken substantially upon the line 1-1 of Figure 6.

While I have illustrated my invention in connection with a vehicle of the bus type, it is to be understood that it is in no wise to be limited to such use.

Referring now to the drawings wherein like reference characters refer to like parts wherever they occur and with particular reference to Figure 1, the reference numeral I indicates a ve-. hicle body, which is supported by front and rear road wheels 3. The vehicle is driven' by means of power supplied to the rear wheels 3 through propeller shaft 1 is provided with universal joints of i any approved design and the necessary slip joints permitting extension of the propeller shaft gears comprising the as the axle 5 follows irregularities in the roadway. Driving power is imparted to the transmission mechanism from the motor Ill through a clutch of conventional design located within the clutch housing I I. It is to be noted (considering Figures 1 and 2) that the longitudinal axis of the transmission and propeller'shaft is at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the motor and rear axle and at an angle with the horizontal. It is evident that the position of the motor may be changed radially with respect to the longitudinal axis of the rear axle withoutdisrupting the combination. For instance,'the motor and transmission may be so placed that the propeller shaft lwould be substantially horizontal or, so that the propeller shaft would be almost vertical.

The location of the motor and transmission ver-' tically will depend upon the space provided therefor in the body of the vehicle. I

Figure 3 illustrates the relation of the parts when the axisof the propeller shaft is in the same plane as the axis of the rear axle and motor.

In the modification illustrated in Figure 4, instead of the longitudinal axis of the transmission being at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the motor, the transmission I5 is arranged with its longitudinal axis at an acute angle with the longitudinal'axis of motor l0. -It may be .desirable in vehicles where space is at a premium, to have the longitudinal axis of-the transmission and propeller shaft at an angle with the longitudinal axis of the vehicle. Thismay also be desirable to obtain a longer length of propellershaft, in order to acquire greater flexibility.

I have illustrated in this modification (see Figure 5) the axis of the propeller shaft and transmission as being at an angle with the horizontal. It is understood that said parts, as in the case of Figures 1, 2 and 3 may be in the same horizontal plane.

. From the above discussion, it is evident that the overall length of the motor, clutch and transmission of my invention is greatly reduced over prior art designs and also the width of these parts associated as a unit in accordance with where prior devices have great difiiculty in housing their motor, clutch and transmission within the vehicle bod I can do so with ease by having the propeller shaft and transmission axes at an angle with the longitudinal axis of the vehicle.

Referring now to Figures 6 and 7, and for the present to Figure 6, the transmission of my present invention is drivingly connected to' the clutch of conventional design located within the housing II by means of a shaft 11. Said shaft has on its outer end and integral therewith a bevel gear I9. Said gear and shaft are jour-v naled in a .bearing 2|, the inner race of which is clamped on the shaft I1 by means of nut and lock washer assembly 23, which is screwed onto threads provided therefor on the shaft. The bearing 2| is piloted in a pilot ring 25 which is secured to an inwardly extending circular flange 26 of the clutch bell-housing II by any suitable means-such as bolts 28. The transmission casing 9 is removably secured to the clutch bell housing ll by-any suitable means and is accurately located with respect thereto by the exteeth ofgear l5 and are provided for a purposerotatably supports the terior' face of the'ring 35 which fits within a circular opening 23 thus be seen that the housing 3 maybeturned on the ring so that its axis can lie in anydesired "position with respect to motor II. r

The flange has a central aperture 3ll,lthe inside diameter of which varies in steps. The smallest diameter of the aperture 35 is less than the outside diameter of the bearing II. The diameter of the middle portion of the aperture is substantially the same size as the outside diameter of the bearing and the diameter of the third portion is slightly larger than said hearing. The outer race of the bearing 2| is provided with an annular groove adapted to receive a locking ring 3| which is adapted to flt into the largest diameter of the aperture 35 and is of such thickness that when the pilot ring 25 is'secured to flange 25,it will be snugly locked in place. It is by reasonof this locking ring 3| that bearing 2| is posltioned'relativeto the outerfacing ot the clutch bell-housing l I and which in turn positions the bevel gear I3.

Meshing with the bevel gear- I3 and at right angles thereto isa second bevel gear 33- which may be of the same size and have the same number of teeth as the bevel gear l3, or it may be larger having more teeth, or smaller with less teeth, depending upon design requirements. The gear 33 is provided-with an internal bore in its hub portion so that it may be received upon a sleeve 35. The gear 33is non-rotatably positioned on the sleeve 35 by suitable means, such as a key '31. Adjacent the outer side of the gear 33 is a bearing 33 the "inner race member of whichis received upon the sleeve 35 substan tially-in abutting relationship with the hub of the gear 33.' Adjacent the outer side of the bearing"33 and the inner side of said gear 33' circular grooves are provided in the sleeve 35 for the insertion of locking rings 4| and 53 re spectively. It' is by means of said'locking rings that the gear 33 and bearing 33 are positioned laterally upon the sleeve 35.

The opposite end circular bossof a partition 55 in the transmission casing 9. The teeth of the gear 41 arejof less widthand of a smaller diameter than the which will be evident hereinafter. The inside diameter ofthesleeve 35 is substantly uniform throughout its length, but is enlarged at its gear end for the insertion of a bearing 5| which I sleeve 35 on a shaft53 the latter serving the main 'shaft of the transmission, I 1 r Y The bearing 33 for the sleeve 35 'is seated within the cylindrical interior 54 of a bearing cage 55 internal shoulder 51 at the cylindrical interiorof the cage and a lock ring 59 insertedinto an. annular groove. The cage 55 has an outer"radial flange 5| and a cylindrical portion 52, The flange 5| is provided with a series of circularly spaced apertures for the insertion of cap-screws ed into"tbreaded p'ertu'res provided theiefor in the inner extremity of 'an' end in the housing I. It vvill p ing 3-and serves to ,gear 33 is journaled in a ceived.

'panion flange is and is retained inposltion by means of an 53 which are thread-- of the on casing 3. The cyflta into. the endof the casposition the parts concenlindrical portion 53 trically. The intermeshingof the bevel gears 33rand I3 .is controlled by adjusting the bevel gear 33 longitudinally of the transmission casing by the insertion or renewal of shims 39 between flange 5i and the end of transmission a i I I The end of the main .shaft 53 adjacent the bearing II carried by a bearing cage member 12. The'cage member I2 includes a radial flange l3 and a cylindrical portion 14 within which the bearing 'II is re- The'cylindrical portion ll of the cage member flts within the interior 54 of the bear-. ing cage 55. ,A circular series of capscrews l5 serve to secure the radial flange I3 to the hearing cage 55. The bearing II is retained in position within the cylindrical portion 14 by means of a shoulder 15 and a lock ring 11. A'lock ring 3| is seated in a groove in the shaft 53 at one side of the bearing H and the other side of said bearing abuts the hub portion of a propeller'shaft companion flange 83. The comnon-rotatably secured to the main shaft 53 by any suitable means, such as splines 35. The companion flange and the bearing II are longitudinally secured on shaft 53, against lock ring 8| by means of nut and washer assembly 81.- It is to be noted that the addition or substraction of' shims 59, moves the shaft lubrication and dust sealing means, such as the rooves 33. I

The driven'shaft 53 extends the entire length of the transmission casing 3 and isrotatably supported at three spaced .points. Two of the supporting bearings 5| and 1| have previously been described and the thirdbearing 3| 'is located adjacent the end of the shaft opposite the bearing II and is housed in the outer end of easing 3. Adjacent the bearing 3| and at the extreme outer end portion of shaft '53 is a speedometer gear 33 non-rotatablysecured to said shaft by suitable means, such as key 35. The speedometer pinion gear 31 is rotatably journaled in transmission cover 39 in a suitable manner (not shown) and said cover is removably secured to casing 3 by means of capscrews IIII.

The end of 3| is splined as indicated at-IOI and receives an internally splined slidable gear I03 which rotates with theshai't. A groove I04 in. the hub of the gear receives a shifter fork I55 (Figure 7) by which thegear may be moved axially along the splines'lM. Adjacent the gear I03 and abutting theends' of the splines I02 is a This gear is free torotate on the .Non rotatably secured "to shaft 53 by suitable means, such as a key III, and adjacent the gear I03 is'the portion Il3of a clutch II 5. "Said portion H3 and the gear positioned on shaft 53 by means of a locking ring the shaft is adjacent the bearing 7 I91 arelong'itudinally H5 inserted 'into 9) groove iii. the Shaft. The

portion 1 I3 of the clutch iI I5 is'externally splined and' the internally splined slidable clutching member H8 of the clutch is slidable thereon.

- The clutch member I I is provided with a groove II9- adapted to receive a shifter fork or similar device by means of which it may be moved axially. The external splines on the portion II3 are identical with the teeth of gears 41 and I 09.

vrotatable shaft I which is secured in suitable supports in the transmission casing 9 (Figure 7). A hollow member I2I is rotatably mounted on the shaft I20 by means of bearings I22 which are separated by a spacer I23.

provide four axially spaced integralgears. The first and largest of these gears I24 is adapted to be constantly in mesh with the gear 45 on sleeve 35. The second and smallergear I25 is adapted to be in constant mesh with the gear I01.

' The third gear I21 is smaller than the, gear I25 and is adapted to engage the gear I03 when it is shifted to the left as viewed in Figures 6 and '7. The smallest gear I29 is in constant mesh. with an idler gear (not shown) which idler gear is adapted to mesh with gear I03 when it is shifted in the opposite direction to-that required to mesh with gear I21. Thrust washers I30 and I32 are provided between the ends of the hollow member I2I and the transmission casing 9.

The shifter fork I05 for the gear m and the fork or other device which is engaged in the groove I I9 to move the clutch member III are carried by slidable rods I33, one of which appears in Figure 7. The rods I33 are moved by the means designated generally by the reference character I34 which is under control of a lever I35. If the transmission 'is' located in a vehicle at a point remote from the, driver thereof. suitable remote control devices may be used to operate the lever I35.

Itis to be understood that the particular arrangementof the speed-changing gears and also the means by which they are shifted may be revised to suit the particular desires or requirements of the user and such revisionsare considered within the scope of the present invention. The arrangement shown herein is illustrative of one type of transmission embodying the present invention. I

In operation, power from the engine is-transmitted through the clutch in the casing II to the shaft I1 and thence through the'bevel gears I9 and.33 to the sleeve 35 and the gear 45. Inthe position of the parts illustrated in Figure 7, no power can be transmittedto the main shaft- 53,

as the parts are in what is generally known as neutral. To shift into first or low gear, gear I03 is moved toward the left as viewed on Figures 6 and 7 so that it meshes with thegear [21. Then the gear 45 will drive the gear I24, and the gear I21. gear I03 drives the latter and the main shaft 53.

It is noted that the gears 45 and I21 are of less size than the gears I24 and I03 respectively with which they'are in mesh, and hence-a reduction in speed and increase in power is obtained.

Reversal of the direction of rotation of the The hollow member I2I serves as a counte'rshaft and is formed to" The gear I21 being in mesh with the shaft 53 is obtained by -moving the sliding gear I I03 to the right as'viewed on Figure 7 so that it comes into mesh with the idler gear, which is driven from the gear I29. The idler gear which is thus interposed in the gearing causes the gear I03 and main shaft 53 to be driven in the opposite direction of rotation.

When the vehicle-has attained suflicient speed in low gear, the transmission is shifted to second orintermediate gear in the usual manner by manipulation of the clutch and the transmission control I35. To obtain the intermediate position of the transmission mechanism, gear I03 is moved toward the right out of mesh with the gear I21 and the sliding clutch member H8 is moved toward the right so that it overlaps the gear I09. In this position of the parts, power "that is transmitted to the gear I24'by the gear by moving the clutch member I I0 to the left out of mesh with gear I09 and into mesh with the gear 41. With the parts in this position, the gear 45 will still drive the gear I24, but the gear I01 which is driven by gear I25 will freely rotate on the shaft 53. Power then is transmitted directly from the gear 45. to the shaft 53 by means of the clutching engagement of the internal splines 01 the member H0 with the teeth 41. The shaft 53 will then rotate at the same speed as the sleeve'35.

While I have confined the description of the transmission mechanism of my invention to a transmission having its longitudinal axis at right angles to the power in-put shaft it is evident that this angle may .be varied by changing theangularity of the bevel gearing I9 and 33. Such an arrangement is contemplated in the transmission mechanism I5 of Figures 4 and 5.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that by my present invention I provide a very compact transmission mechanism having a power in-put shaft, the axis of which is coincident with the longitudinal axis of the driving means, but which is other than parallel to or co-incidental with the longitudinal axis of the transmission.

It is also evident that I have provided a transmission for use. in a motorvehicle and particularly in a vehicle employing atransversely mounted motor at either end-of thevehicle, in which the transmission bevel gearing is at the power in-put end of the transmission, thereby reducing the size of such gears and increasing their factor of safety.

The invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The present embodiments are therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description, and all changes-which come withinthe range. of equivalency of the claims'are therefore intended to be embraced therein.

What is claimed and desired to be secured by United States Letters Patent is e shafts, a driving said motor unit and receiving means; and means v 1. In achange speed trion comprising a pair of telescoped independently rbtatable shaft and a gear thereon, a

driven gear on one of said telescoped shafts meshing with said driving gear, a casing for said transmission, a bearing housing mounted on said casing and a pair of bearings independently supporting said nested shafts within said housing, and means to permit adjustment of the position of said bearing housing in said casing whereby to simultaneously move said bearings and the telescoped shafts axially and thereby effect adjustment of the meshing" engagement of said gears.

2. In a motor vehicle having drive wheels, and means for imparting a flnal drive thereto, a motor unit stationarily mounted upon said vehicle with its power output shaft arranged transversely of the' vehicle, an anti-friction bearing rotatably supporting said-output shaft; a longitudinally arranged transmission casing disposed adjacent I the output endof said shaft; gearing within said casing for interconnecting said output end with said flnal drive for supporting said transmission casing on said motor unit for oscillation about the axis of said output shaft to several positions of adjustment, whereby the transmission may be properly related to the final drive in any one of several stationary motor positions, said supporting means comprising acollar receiving the outer race of said bearing and permanently secured to the motor unit, a cylindrical surface on said collar concentric with the shaft, and a complemental cylindrical surfaceon said transmission casing. u

'3. In a vehicle having a body structure, an unsprung drive axle and an engine supported by said body structure'substantially in parallelism and in close proximity tosaid axle, a change speed transmission mounted on the body structure with its axis forming an acute angle with the engine axis, and a flexible propeller-shaft substantially aligned with said transmiss on and interconnecting the latter with said axle, said transmission being intersected approximately midway of its ends by close proximity to said axle,

the engine axis, and the propeller shaft extending from an off-center point on the axle to one end of said transmission at a point substantially as far from the axle as is the engine.

4. Ina vehicle, a body structure, a drive axle.

'- an engine mounted on said body structure with its shaft extending transversely thereof and in a clutch housing secured to one end of said engine, a transmission casing mounted on said clutch housing with its longitudinal axis at an angle to said engine shaft and extending on the opposite side of said engine from said axle, said casing being adjustable angularly about the axis of said engine shaft, a transmission shaft arranged longitudinally of said casing and operatively connected to said engine shaft, a power take-oil shaft mounted in said oasing and extending from a wall thereof adjacent to said engine, gearing in said transmission casing connecting said take-off shaft to said transmission shaft, and a flexible propeller shaft of substantial length connected to said take-off shaft and to said axle.

5. In a vehicle, a body structure, a drive axle, an engine mounted on said body structure with its shaft extending transversely thereof and in close proximity to said axle, a clutch housing secured to one end of said engine, a transmission casing mounted on'- said clutch housing with its longitudinal axis at an angle of approximately 45 to said engine shaft and extending on the opposite side of said engine from said axle, said casing being adjustable angularly about the axis ofsaid engine shaft and said transmission shaft, .and a'flexible propeller shaft of substantial length connected to said take-off shaft and said axle and extending in axial alignment with said transmission shaft.

casing and operatively COR'i in. RAY nncxnnmna. 4s 

